Roland TSA

BP Oil Spill:

Before

           Before the BP oil crisis in the early months of 2010, the Gulf of Mexico was a thriving fishing ground, a vast region of oil drilling, and a major tourist attraction. Being a major oil field could be the reason for the vast number of oil rigs covering most of the coast lines landscape. Although not the first spill in the gulf, it is definitely one of the most tragic. The gulf is mostly a giant lake that is bordered by the United States, Mexico, Belize, and Cuba. And for years these countries used this saltwater system for there fishing grounds, and they once used it for a good source of food.

During

 During this catastrophe in the Gulf, everyone spanning from Cuba to Mexico to the United States and back, were affected by this crisis. BP activated their major oil spill response plan immediately after the accident but it was a poorly thought out response plan detailing the use of booms to contain and collect the oil on the surface. Ocean waves not only washed the oil over the booms but churned the oil with the water such that much of the oil went under the booms and most of what was collected was sea water. One of the many ways that they tried to stop the oil from spreading was to use shrimp boats using the nets and then using special machines that filter and refine the water. They also did many controlled burns. Some people could have done more than just say were sorry, but they did put a safety pole to make sure that if the original pipe broke the other would take over but the explosion damaged both and lots of oil spilled into the gulf.

 After

   BP did help clean up the oil spill in the gulf and so did other local businesses. For almost an entire year, oil has been flowing in the Gulf of Mexico, and will stay there for who knows how long, unless they find something more effective. Because of this incident, 400 different species have been threatened along with tons of coral now dead. This incident is considered by many, the worst oil spill in U.S. history.